Charlotte Hornets: How has Miles Bridges fared as a starter?

Miles Bridges has seen an uptick in his minutes since the injury bug hit the Charlotte Hornets. Multiple players have been injured that play positions Bridges plays, small forward and power forward. Gordon Hayward, who has been hurt for multiple weeks, and PJ Washington, who missed a few games as well with an ankle injury. With LaMelo Ball, Malik Monk, and Devonte’ Graham also missing time due to injuries, Bridges has been inserted into the starting lineup for multiple games over the past 3 weeks.

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According to Basketball-Reference, Bridges has started every game since April 4, accumulating to 11 games total to this date, and before April 4, he had only started two games total. Since receiving the promotion as a starter, Bridges has seen scoring and playmaking opportunities increase greatly. He has been more aggressive on the offensive end due to the Hornets lacking key creators such as Hayward and Ball. He has been looking to score more off-the-dribble and has had more chances in the pick and roll to either create for himself or teammates.

His shot attempts, in general, have increased as well. Prior to his 11-game stretch of starting, he had 11 games of double-digit field goal attempts. Since becoming a starter, he has had nine games of double-digit field goal attempts, according to Basketball-Reference. This is the most aggressive Bridges has been offensively all season and with all the injuries that have occurred, his emphasis on being a scorer has increased.

Since becoming a starter, Bridges has accumulated five games of at least 20 points or more and set his career-high of 33 points in a contest, according to Basketball-Reference. He also has had two double-doubles during his stint as a starter. In his past 11 games, he is averaging 19.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.4 APG. He also is shooting around 46 percent from three on seven attempts per game.

With Bridges most likely being a starter for the remainder of the regular season, his production will be essential to the Hornets playoff push with all the injuries the Hornets are dealing with currently. It will be interesting to see how Bridges’ production affects his future playing time when everyone is healthy.